Dana Air laments cost of training local pilots in Nigeria

Abiola Seun

Dana Air yesterday said it would continue to invest in building capacity for home- grown pilots to advance the aviation industry despite the high cost of training indigenous pilots in Nigeria.

Speaking during the decoration of two new captains on its Boeing 737 aircraft, Captain Shina Agbelese and Captain Ademola Akinyemi in Lagos on Monday, the Chief Operating Officer of Dana Air, Mr. Obi Mbanuzuo, said it’s exciting to see young Nigerian Pilots performing excellently, and doing amazingly well.

He said,” It takes a lot to train pilots and with over 80% of our pilots trained by Dana Air, we would continue to be a trailblazer in building capacity for homegrown pilots.

“We are glad to be making a huge impact in this regard and contributing our quota to the growth and stability of the industry.’’

He congratulated the newly decorated captains for their success and urged them to sustain the airline’s strict safety standards, and emphasis on professionalism.

Similarly, Dana Air also announced that all its Pilots, Cabin Crew and Ground staff have all been vaccinated while that of its back end staff is ongoing in Lagos.

The Media and Communications Manager of Dana Air, Kingsley Ezenwa said, ‘’all our pilots, cabin crew and ground staff have concluded their vaccination while that of our backend staff is ongoing.’’

”We had to ensure that all staff having regular interaction with our customers got vaccinated first to guarantee their safety and the safety of other backend staff and customers.

”We are not letting the guards down as we still ensure that our customers keep the mask on while onboard, temperature checks done, sanitization before boarding, row by row disembarkation, and regular disinfection of the aircraft after every flight.’’

‘’At Dana Air, our commitment to the safety and well-being of our staff and customers is second to none and we will continue to provide safe, seamless and reliable air transport for the flying public” he added.

Dana Air is one of Nigeria’s leading airlines with a mixed fleet of nine aircraft and daily flights from Lagos to Abuja, Port Harcourt, Owerri and Enugu